Etymograph

English

scent

Scent comes from Old French sentir ‘to feel, perceive, smell, sense’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sent-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sent-1‘to feel’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsentiō1‘to feel, sense’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sentir1‘to feel, perceive, smell, sense’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sent1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1567scent1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English scent
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1567, Ovid, The Third Booke: “His houndes espyde him where he was, and Blacksoote…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sent-Wiktionary, English scent‘to feel’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsentiōWiktionary, English scent‘to feel, sense’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sentirWiktionary, English scent‘to feel, perceive, smell, sense’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sentWiktionary, English scent
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1567scentWiktionary, English scent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1567, Ovid, The Third Booke: “His houndes espyde him where he was, and Blacksoote…”

The story

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (‘to feel’), and thus related to Saterland Frisian Sin (‘sense’), West Frisian sin (‘sense’), Dutch zin (‘sense, meaning’), Low German Sinn (‘sense’), Luxembourgish Sënn (‘sense, perception’), German Sinn (‘sense’). The -c- appeared in the 17th century, possibly by influence of ascent, descent, etc., or by influence of science.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to feel’

send, senseless, sith, insensible, antisense, 30 more

through Latin sentiō ‘to feel, sense’

sense, sensitive, consensus, consent, sentence, sensible, sensation, sensor, sentiment, sensual, sensibility, sentient, sensuous, assent, sensu, sentience, 32 more

through Old French sentir ‘to feel, perceive, smell, sense’

resent, 3 more

Today it means

noun A distinctive smell.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “scent”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sent- / scent

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